Anyone know if research still active , I still have a large stone that was removed from my old arthritic Furby , I mention his arthritis as I have heard that can be a contributory factor in stones , though I’m not certain

A few months ago, one of my sows passed a stone that would have crippled a human, and I've been looking for something to prevent her from getting another one. A cavy vet in California suggested cranberry juice might have the same effect on guinea pigs as it has on people.

Has anyone seen any studies on the effects of cranberry juice on guinea pigs, or on preventing stones in guinea pigs?

Cranberry juice is supposed to cut the incidence of urinary tract infections (which are implicated in stones) by half in humans. I don't know that it would help prevent stones but might limit UTIs. Some people here give their guinea pigs cranberry juice.

After reading a thread here (which I can't find now), I was giving my girl Oxbow Critterberries, which are no longer manufactured. She had bladderstone surgery over a year ago in March 2008, and shortly afterward x-rayed with a possible new stone about June 2008. That's when I kept an eye on her and began the Critterberries, and so far, so good-- no signs of bladderstones or UTIs. (she's 7 and I don't know how she'd hold up for another surgery).

I read the ingredients and one of them is Uva Ursi, which is used to treat cystitis/UTI issues in humans (and which I have used myself; it's quite effective). I've finally run out of Critterberries and tried to stretch them out, but since decreasing the frequency of feeding them, she's started to show stray signs of mild discomfort. I was thinking about combining uva ursi with pure cranberry juice (cut with water and perhaps some fruit juice) and seeing if it helped her at all; of course it could all be a coincidence, but I'm not taking chances.

Yeah, I can't remember exactly what I read; I think I was following something about polycrita and other possible aids for bladder health, and someone said that maybe, possibly, Critterberries may contain something that acts similarly to polycrita? It wasn't a sure thing, but that poor piggie went through about 3 rounds of antibiotics with recurring pink urine/pain, so I figured I had nothing to lose, and once I started her on the Critterberries, everything cleared up. I realize it could be a coincidence too.

Yes, thank you Tracis, that was it! It was hard to read the ingredients on the CritterBerry bag, but I don't remember seeing the chanca piedra on there. I'll start researching the shillintong and the chanca piedra-- at this point, I have nothing to lose and am out of CBs!

It would be useful to have someone read up on bladder stones in pygmy goats and see if there is any similarity in guinea pigs. Blockage in pygmies happens quite often and there are additives some people put in the water which scientific studies have shown may reduce the formation of stones. Like guinea pigs, if pygmy goats eat too much alfalfa, it is believed that the calcium can be a problem. The calcium-phosphorous ratio is very important and it would be possible to determine this ratio if you write down the daily amount of each food item you feed your guinea pigs. Any government agricultural lab can run a feed analysis for a nominal fee. The lab will require food samples, such as pellets, hay, etc. I strongly believe that my first guinea pigs got bladder stones because I fed them pellets which were not Oxbow and I didn't filter their water. Nowadays, I feed more fresh vegetables (lots and lots), grass hay, Oxbow pellets, blueberries or other berries for vitamin C, and I supplement with vitamin C. Some guinea pig owners give cucumbers for treats, but I serve cucumbers twice a day because they have so much water in them. Since doing all these things, I haven't seen any bladder stones so far (knock on wood!)